The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for teaching special needs children about money, its value, and budgeting. It provides a product designed for two primary categories of children with special needs. The first category is Educable Mentally Handicapped (EMH) children, who are able to be taught in a classroom setting and have the potential to progress into a vocational-tech career path. The second category is Trainable Mentally Handicapped (TMH) children, who have the abilities to understand and use what they have learned, but on a limited basis. Both groups of children, if properly taught, have the possibility of moving into Independent Living Environments.
Until recently, the needs of such children have not been adequately addressed. One particularly critical, unaddressed skill for independent living is the ability to recognize and use money.
The product may also benefit individuals with motor or cognitive difficulties that are not necessarily categorized as mentally handicapped. For instance, the items could be used by adults who need special assistance with fine motor skills, including individuals who suffer from strokes or other impairments that require some type of therapeutic intervention.
An effective training system teaches an important and useful skill that is fun for the student. The system should be designed to the level of the learning ability of the student because one that is too complicated will frustrate and cause confusion. This is especially important when training persons with learning disabilities and also those having short attention spans who may become easily frustrated. Many of the currently available training systems for teaching a student about money are geared to skill levels above persons in these groups.
Existing training tools are often complicated. Even after a student has been instructed on how to perform the lesson, they may still be apprehensive and uncertain when required to perform the lesson independently. These types of training systems are often not enjoyed by the students resulting in their reluctance or refusal to use them.
Therefore, there is a need for a system of training students how to recognize money and develop rudiments of budgeting that uses intuitive and relaxed methods that students can understand and use independently after a minimal amount of instruction.